Thank Who?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (NIV)

There is a scene in the old movie “Shenandoah” where Jimmy Stewart’s character, Charlie Anderson, “thanks” God in prayer for their food only after monologuing about how they planted and harvested the crops and prepared the food, doing all the work to provide it themselves. “But we thank you just the same anyway, Lord…Amen,” he closes. This, obviously, is not actual gratitude.

I imagine there are some in the world who see things the way Charlie did, but most people hold to some philosophy or other that says we should recognize those who helped us along the way, influenced us, or taught us to become what we are. Gratitude is considered a desirable character trait no matter what religion or non-religion you’re talking about. So I’m glad that we have a day like Thanksgiving to remind us to be thankful for our opportunities, our abilities, and the people in our lives.

In searching for gratitude quotes for this article, I came across a website run by a couple of Disney devotee sisters (not the Disney company). They have a page of “Disney Gratitude Quotes for Thanksgiving.” The title sounds good, but the article spends so much time encouraging self-love and being grateful for “who you are and who you are becoming,” it started to remind me of Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went to the temple to pray. “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income,’” (Luke 18:11-12 NLT).

It’s not that there is no place for self-love or appreciation of one’s own positive qualities. It’s just that, in my opinion, that is also not gratitude. Thankfulness implies being thankful TO someone, someone other than the self, someone who provided the thing for you as a gift or blessing.

The problem with this God-less Disney gratitude is that there is no one to thank. It’s nothing more than self-congratulations– being grateful TO yourself FOR yourself.

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner,’”. Jesus said of the tax collector, “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:13-14 NLT)

The parable is not about gratitude. It is about humility. But biblical thankfulness starts with humility, a recognition that we benefit from many blessings that we could not provide for ourselves.

So who are we actually thanking? We should thank our parents for raising us, our spouses for sticking by us, perhaps our employer for providing a job, maybe our neighbor for feeding our cats when we went on vacation, etc. But looking deeper, who brought those people into our lives? Who gave us the good health to be able to work and be active, or healing when we were sick, or a beautiful sunset at that moment we needed something to lift our spirits? Every day is filled with blessings great and small. Who are we thanking? Even if we’re not as bad as Charlie Anderson, to some degree the idea of gratitude falls flat if we are not thanking the God who created the heavens and the earth and all that therein is.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous. Psalm 146:5-8 (KJV)

Dear God, help me always to recognize You as the Giver of “every good and perfect gift.” I thank You for all the physical blessings, opportunities, and people that You’ve placed as blessings in my life. Most of all I thank You for the spiritual gifts provided through Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins